Isaiah 51:17

17 Be thou raised (up), be thou raised (up), rise thou, Jerusalem, that hast drunk of the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath (that hast drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger); thou hast drunk unto the bottom of the cup of sleep, thou hast drunk of (it) unto the dregs.

Isaiah 51:17 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 51:17

Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem
As persons out of a sleep, or out of a stupor, or even out of the sleep of death; for this respects a more glorious state of the church, the Jerusalem, the mother of us all, after great afflictions; and especially if it respects the more glorious state of all on earth, signified by the New Jerusalem, that will be preceded by the resurrection of the dead, called the first resurrection, when the saints will awake out of the dust of the earth, and stand upon their feet; see ( Daniel 12:2 ) ( 1 Thessalonians 4:16 ) ( Revelation 20:5 ) , though the last glorious state of the church, in the spiritual reign of Christ, is also expressed by the rising of the witnesses slain, by their standing on their feet, and by their ascension to heaven, ( Revelation 11:11 Revelation 11:12 ) , before which will be a time of great affliction to the church, as here: which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury;
it is no unusual thing in Scripture for the judgments of God, upon a nation and people, or on particular persons, to be signified by a cup, and especially on wicked men, as the effect of divine wrath, ( Psalms 11:6 ) ( 85:8 ) ( Jeremiah 25:15 Jeremiah 25:16 Jeremiah 25:17 ) . Here it signifies that judgment that begins at the house and church of God, ( 1 Peter 4:17 ) , which looks as if it arose from the wrath and fury of an incensed God: and though it may greatly intend the wrathful persecutions of men, yet since they are by the permission and will of God, and are bounded and limited by him, they are called "his cup", and said to come from his hand; and the people of God take them, or consider them as coming by his appointment: thou hast drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out;
alluding to excessive drinking, which brings a trembling of limbs, and sometimes paralytic disorders on men, and to the thick sediments in the bottom of the cup, which are fixed there, as the word F21 signifies, and are not easily got out, and yet every drop and every dreg are drunk up; signifying, that the whole portion of sufferings, allotted to the Lord's people, shall come upon them, even what are most disagreeable to them, and shall fill them with trembling and astonishment.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (yebq ta) "crassamentum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Vitringa.

Isaiah 51:17 In-Context

15 Forsooth I am thy Lord God, that trouble the sea, and the waves thereof wax great; the Lord of hosts is my name. (For I am the Lord thy God, who troubleth the sea, and its waves grow great; the Lord of hosts is my name.)
16 I have put my words in thy mouth, and I defended thee in the shadow of mine hand; that thou plant (the) heavens, and found the earth, and say to Zion, Thou art my people. (I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have hid thee under the shadow of my hand; so that I might firmly plant the heavens, and found, or form, the earth, and say to Zion, Thou art my people.)
17 Be thou raised (up), be thou raised (up), rise thou, Jerusalem, that hast drunk of the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath (that hast drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger); thou hast drunk unto the bottom of the cup of sleep, thou hast drunk of (it) unto the dregs.
18 None there is that sustaineth it, of all the sons which it engendered; and none there is that taketh the hand thereof, of all the sons which it nourished. (There is no one who sustaineth thee, of all those whom thou hath begat; and there is no one who taketh thy hand, of all those whom thou hath nourished.)
19 Two things there be that came to thee; who shall be sorry on thee? (There be two things that came to thee; who shall be sorry for thee?) destroying, and defouling, and hunger, and sword. Who shall comfort thee?
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.